Its Lincoln MKZ, also known as the "autonomoose," spent two months learning to drive in icy, snowy conditions in Stratford, Ross McKenzie the general manager of the centre, told CBC News.

"We created a test facility to drive autonomously with the challenging conditions with snow and ice and didn't have the benefit of having the roads salted so we could test in true strenuous conditions."

And like human drivers, the computer-driven car also struggled with the rough weather.

The circumstances were then repeated "hundreds if not thousands" of times "and that allows the vehicle computers to make an informed decision when it encounters that situation on the road," McKenzie said.

Once the vehicle learns how to handle these conditions, it will be safer on the road than any human-controled vehicle, he said.

"Some people don't check their blind spot. Other people change lanes without signaling and everybody's late at times and either goes over the speed limit or, you know, pushes an intersection to get through when it's amber and mistakenly misses intersections and runs red lights," he said.